Language+Development+Affects+Learning+Work+Samples

Kerry Storace October 27, 2014 Linguistic Dimensions Study Community Description  Currently I am teaching seventh graders at a school located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. New York City is considered the cultural center of the United States and, as a result of that, there are a myriad of activities geared towards adolescents both in an outside of school. Being that the students in my school come from Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens, they have a number of different activities or programs that they can choose to participate in. Although students do spend the majority of their days at school or working on academics their lives often expand into other areas as well.  All of the students in my class are required to do independent reading and respond to it with reading guides (example on the following page). Although this is a requirement, students are allowed to choose their own reading material for this particular assignment. Even so, they often struggle to complete the required one hour per day of reading. Although students may not complete seven hours of reading each week, they do spend time outside of school reading and deciding upon books. Recently my school has decided to add more books to their library and they asked students for their suggestions. This is an example of how students literary practices in and outside of school often bleed into one another. As demonstrated in the example, part of the reading response discusses where the student read and the distractions they may have encountered. Something I found surprising were the amount of students who share their room with a sibling. This is not an uncommon practice; [LG1]

however, many students reported that they share a room with a sibling of the opposite gender who is between the ages of 16-20. Upon speaking to my cooperating teacher, I learned that in Manhattan this is actually common practice. Unfortunately, many students, particularly males, find this difficult and distracting. One student in particular noted that he and his sister share the same work space and, as she is in college, they are constantly arguing about who can use the space and when. On the other hand, another student shares his room with his brother who is close to him in age and he stated that not only does he consider his brother one of his best friends, they also share many mutual friends who they spend time with during the weekends. This particular student is actually a struggling reader; however, he spent his own time writing a short story about himself, his brother, and their friends and their lives in the future. I would love to provide an example but as this was not a school assignment I have not seen it. Even though this is a student who often struggles to write in class, he became inspired by the life he and his peers lead outside of school. Obviously not all activities outside of school involve reading and writing. One program many of my students participate in is an after school parks program. I observed part of this program which consists of students staying after school with an instructor who is not a teacher at the school. The program is separate from the school but they have created a partnership so that students can participate. The instructor takes students to Central Park to take photographs. Through this program, not only do students gain exposure to the community around them, they also learn how to use cameras manually and gain knowledge regarding photography. Fostering artistic passion in students is important to their social as well as their academic lives. One student in this program has actually expressed an interest in being a photographer as his profession later in life.  The students in my class come from a variety of different backgrounds with different customs and values surrounding them. Not every student is involved with a specific religion; however, many of those who are use this as a way of participating in additional activities. One student is very involved in her church choir, again demonstrating the importance of the arts to students. She is required to rehearse during the week and performs on weekends during the church services. Another student not only attends temple but also goes to Hebrew School on the weekends. For these students, religion plays an important part in how they connect not only to their communities but their families as well.  Although students in my class come from many different backgrounds and boroughs, they all spend time on the Upper West Side as that is where their school is located. Some of them are able to walk to school while others take multiple trains and busses to arrive. Some students escort a younger sibling and some students are escorted by their parents. Regardless of their morning routine, all students covet having “lunch out”. Lunch Out is a program at the school that allows students to leave campus for their lunch and recess period. Although every student wants it, it is only permitted to students who show maturity and good behavior. Many students choose to spend their lunch period at a neighborhood pizza place called Two Boots. What is interesting is, when I observe students there, about half of them are eating pizza and the other half has lunches they brought from home. Lunch Out is less about being able to buy food and more about taking a break from the school day to spend time with friends. Their language, attitude, and physical behavior when they are out at lunch is much more relaxed and informal when compared to students who eat in the cafeteria.  After discussing their communities and home lives, I discovered many things about my students that I may not have known. This essay notes some particular examples but many students are also involved in sports, technology, dance, music, etc. Not only are these important factors in a student’s life, they are also things that students are excited to discuss. The students are eager to express to their teachers the importance of these activities. For most students, all aspects of their life are affected by school, community, family, and friends.

Kerry Storace CTGE 5531 November 17, 2014 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;">Think Tank <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;"> This reading focused on the various ways grammar can be learned and taught. As a teacher and a student I have seen and experienced many of the methods mentioned such as workbooks, mini lessons, etc. The author of the book explained many reasons why more traditional methods are unsuccessful. Although there were a number of suggested alternatives, one of the more complex ideas was using free writes to learn and teach grammar. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;"> Free writing, by definition, does not require a specific focus on grammar; rather, it is focused on content, or just the action of writing itself. In fact, I generally would not examine a free write to get a sense of a student’s grammar. I recently collaborated with Ashley to analyze a free write for grammar mistakes and we were unsure if this was an accurate way of assessing grammar. In a free write, we are more likely to assess content. Correct grammar is taught because it can enhance content by getting across specific ideas more clearly. If we do not teach grammar with the ultimate goal of receiving successful and interesting written pieces created by our students, what is the point? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;"> The free write technique does require students to edit their writing after receiving instruction, however, the instruction is also content based. By using specific texts that use grammar as a way of enhancing writing, students can become inspired to do the same in their own work. As they improve their content, their grammar becomes more accurate and vice versa. Although this is a smart way of internalizing grammar, it does create some problems from my perspective. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15.3333px;"> In my own class, if students are advised to edit or revise a free write (often a “do now” in my classroom), they frequently rewrite the entire passage. Instead of changing or editing specific parts, their entire mind set changes. As they are being asked to revise the free write, they see it as a different sort of assignment. Often times, by making their essay more “correct,” the content suffers or, in some cases, content from the original piece is completely eliminated. I do think that the particular technique described in the book does address some of these issues. It is significant that their writing journals leave a blank page next to the original piece. In this way, a teacher could see how or why a student made specific changes. Also, the idea of not allowing a student to rip a page out of their notebook reinforces the idea that mistakes are inevitable and something that can be learned from as opposed to something to hide or discard. I can also see how using a “mentor text” can inspire interesting thought regarding the content they have already written. Vanna discussed the idea of explaining how to revise and using content as a revision technique for grammar. The most important aspect of this teaching technique is the repetition. As students become more comfortable with the process, they will be more likely to respond in a positive way.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Kerry Storace <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">December 22, 2014 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">CTGE 5531 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Portfolio Meditation: How can we bridge the gap between home and school literacies? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;"> Everyone, including students, uses different speech with family and friends than they do in professional or academic environments. To do otherwise would actually be considered inappropriate. Although it is more than acceptable to use causal speech or slang, it is important to know Standard English as well. Students need to find a way to understand both forms of speech as they will need to use both in their lives. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;"> One way of bridging the gap between home and school literacies is by introducing pop culture into the curriculum. One of the things I mention in my community description is the types of novels students are currently interested in. Right now, students are reading many books about dystopian societies such as //The Hunger Games// or the //Divergent// trilogy. By incorporating what students are reading into the curriculum, students will become more engaged. My community also discusses hobbies, artistic pursuits, community activities, and athletics. By incorporating these sorts of things into the curriculum students will not only become engaged, they will also feel that their lives outside of school are acknowledged and respected. Being a product of an arts high school myself, I can personally attest that the incorporation of music in my curriculum improved my performance in my academics. Students need to feel inspired. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;"> One technique for teaching grammar is using a free write. Upon first learning of this technique, I found it strange. After all, free writing by its nature does not address grammar or spelling so it seemed counter intuitive to use this approach for grammatical thinking. In many ways, however, it is an extremely clever strategy. Students begin by using casual language like they might use at home and they then revise and edit the piece. Revision, editing, and re-writing are some of the best ways to learn grammar. It is not beneficial for the teacher to revise students’ papers but the instructor can guide students through this process. This particular technique uses examples of books written by various authors that are meant to enhance the students’ understanding of grammar. They use these texts to make revisions in their own writing. This way they are able to see both the differences and the value of both casual language as well as Standard English.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Dis maks my teacha cry <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">This article discusses the phenomenon which they call “text speech”. In other words, the type of language and abbreviations often used in text messages. The article addresses different schools of thought regarding text language. Some people think it is positive as, at the very least, it influences students to write. Others feel that the fact that they use this slang so frequently means it will bleed into academic and professional work and cause the students to be perceived as people with low literacy skills. It is also apparent that students are more likely to use this slang when they are in a pressure inducing situation such as a standardized test.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Schulten, K. (1999). Huck Finn: Born to trouble. //English Journal, 89, 2.// Available online at: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">This article discusses the curriculum one school, Cherry Hill, chose to use to teach the novel Huckleberry Finn. Students, teachers, and parents came together and tried to find solutions to common concerns. Instead of banning the book, Cherry Hill found a way to address everyone’s concerns and create a curriculum that was stimulating and literary as well as culturally conscious. The curriculum consists of teaching the book while also discussing the history, politics, and stereotypes surrounding the novel and the characters within it.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Kerry Storace <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">November 23, 2014 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">CTGE 5531 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Sentence Gems <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">“I saw them then- pigeons, not water. But whatever relief I felt at seeing birds, it dissipated when that winged mass drew a shade on the sun. I tell you, it was night at three o’clock in the afternoon. My world snapped into a box. The air staled. A kind of sleet (the birds’ dung) fell from that winged ceiling” (Timberlake 13). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">I chose this sentence because it provokes feeling for the reader. The author uses metaphors and similes (winged sky, dung like sleet, etc.). The author also uses the character’s dialect (“I tell you…”) to create tension in the scene. The reader can not only picture the action, they can feel it and smell it and imagine their reaction. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">“And as much as I’d like to believe there’s a truth beyond illusion, I’ve come to believe that there’s no truth beyond illusion. Because, between ‘reality’ on the one hand, and the point where the mind strikes reality, there’s a middle zone, a rainbow edge where beauty comes into being, where two very different surfaces mingle and blur to provide what life does not: and this is the space where all art exists, and all magic” (Tartt 770). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">I chose this sentence because the author uses imagery to explain a concept. In other words, it is impossible to define why art speaks to us but the author has used actual objects and descriptors (middle zone, rainbow edge, surfaces, etc.) to describe why art is important. When this passage is read within the context of the novel, it provokes an intense emotional response from the reader. It allows the reader to picture a feeling. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Sources Cited: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Timberlake, Amy, and David Homer. //One Came Home//. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">Tartt, Donna. //The Goldfinch//. New York City: Little, Brown and Company, 2013. Print.

Kerry Storace December 8, 2014 CTGE 5531 Lesson Reflection I chose to teach my 7th grade ELA class a lesson on run-on sentences. This is an issue that arises in many student essays. There are also multiple ways of correcting them. I made many edits to my lesson plan after creating the rough draft. In fact, I even made some changes on the spot although nothing drastic; of course. The run-on sentence lesson was the last portion of a 1.5 hour class (the grammar lesson was about 30-35 minutes). I actually taught the majority of the class myself. We began by discussing Sudan which connects to the text we are reading. We had a discussion about refugee camps and looked at some photos. I think that at the time I began my run-on sentence lesson students were starting to lose focus. Because of this, I think my first activity was helpful. Because people were working as partners or in groups, it gave them the chance to collaborate and talk to each other. I also think the physical act of cutting the sentences can invigorate the students because it involves movement. This is also where I made my “on the spot” modification: instead of students using scissors to separate the run-on sentences, they just tore them in half. In terms of time, material, and general confusion this is an easier and more efficient strategy. Most students found the activity fairly simple but their essays do not always reflect that. The next section of the agenda was more difficult. I used this time to explain to the students that there are three ways to separate a run-on sentence: semicolons, periods, or commas with a connecting word. I gave them a detailed 10 minute talk about the sentences and I had them participate but, as class was almost over, they were beginning to lose focus. In the end, due to time constraints, most students were only able to finish the first question in their questionnaire.

[LG1] I wish I could read these documents, but the picture is too far away! I tried zooming in. These are their independent reading guides, right? What kinds of texts are they interested in?